The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies
262
The Deoband Madrassah Movement: Countercultural Trends and Tendencies
262Hardcover
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Overview
Using analyses of Deobandi journals and interviews with madrassahs and college students, this book comprehends the DMM from a broader perspective to discover the reasons behind its clash with the mainstream society in which it operates.
Product Details
| ISBN-13: | 9781783083886 |
|---|---|
| Publisher: | Anthem Press |
| Publication date: | 03/01/2015 |
| Series: | Diversity and Plurality in South Asia |
| Pages: | 262 |
| Product dimensions: | 6.00(w) x 9.10(h) x 1.00(d) |
About the Author
Read an Excerpt
The Deoband Madrassah Movement
Countercultural Trends and Tendencies
By Muhammad Moj
Wimbledon Publishing Company
Copyright © 2015 Muhammad MojAll rights reserved.
ISBN: 978-1-78308-388-6
CHAPTER 1
THE DEOBAND MADRASSAH MOVEMENT: RESEARCH CONTEXT
They see their values and conceptions of the good life disappearing, and they can find no way within the system to restore them. Milton Yinger, Countercultures: The Promise and Peril of a World Turned Upside Down (1982, 210)
This chapter spells out the research areas and schema of this book. The chapter unfolds at three levels. At the first level, it presents a brief history of madaris on the one hand and the DMM on the other. Secondly, it narrates the different interpretations of the DMM in the existing literature. At the third level, it explains the theoretical context as well as the research methodology.
1.1 Madaris in Islam
The Arabic word madrassah (plural: madaris) literally means 'school' (Riaz 2008, 2) or 'place of learning' (Malik 2008, 1). It originates from the word dars, which means 'lesson' or 'instruction'. In the Arabic-speaking societies, the word madrassah can be applied to a wide variety of institutions (Berkey 2007, 40). However, in non-Arabic-speaking regions, this word is generally used to refer to a special kind of institution devoted to the training of ulama (religious scholars, plural of alim) through instruction about the Quran, the Hadith (traditions of the Prophet), fiqh (jurisprudence) and Islamic law (Riaz 2008, 2).
The tradition of madrassah is as old as the history of Islam itself. Although the word madrassah was not used as such, a study circle or halaqah was established for learning in the mosque of the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him, PBUH) in the city of Madinah. The ones who participated in that halaqah used to sit on an elevated platform called a suffah and were called Ashab al-Suffah (Arshad 2005, 21). Even during the life time of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH), nine such halaqahs had been established inside Madinah (Khalid 2002, 89). These non-formal educational arrangements, based in the mosques or in the homes of the Prophet's companions, were the precursors of madaris and continued during the era of the first four caliphs and even later (Riaz 2008, 53–4).
Imdad Sabri has pointed out the existence of systematic education at primary level during Caliph Umar's reign (632–44 CE) whereby the educational requirements of Muslims were fulfilled through a maktab or kuttab, an institution attached to a local mosque (Arshad 2005, 23).
A. L. Tibawi has added that 'the maktab could be held in a private house, shop or any other place and was presided over by a mu'allim (teacher)' and that it was aimed at the 'removal of illiteracy and the teaching of reckoning, grammar, poetry, history (akhbar) and above all, the Quran' (quoted in Riaz 2008, 55). During the first four centuries of Islamic education (seventh through tenth century CE), the majority of Muslims who sought instruction stopped at the maktab level, and so seekers of higher knowledge had to join the circles of well-known scholars and mystics because madaris did not exist as independent institutions.
It is hard to trace the exact period when madaris began to appear as independent and exclusive educational institutions. It is generally agreed that the Madrassah al-Nizamiya of Baghdad, established in 1067, is the first institutionalized madrassah (Khalid 2002, 91;
Malik 2008, 4; Rizwi 2005, 68). This madrassah was established by Nizam ul-Mulk Tusi (1017–92), who was the vizir (prime minister) of the Seljuk Turk Sultan Alp Arsalan under the Abbasid Caliphate. However, Arshad (2005, 22) and Riaz (2008, 54) mention several madaris established well before Madrassah al-Nizamiya. Riaz (2008, 54) has even traced the history of institutionalized madaris to the reign of al-Mamun (786–833 CE) of the Abbasid Caliphate.
Although Madrassah al-Nizamiya is not the first institutionalized madrassah in the history of Islamic education, its founder Nizam ul-Mulk Tusi holds the distinction of providing a model for other madaris. He established a chain of madaris in several cities in the Seljuk sultanate, which stretched from the Hindu Kush to Eastern Anatolia and from Central Asia to the Persian Gulf (Arjomand 1999). He also set up auqaf (plural of Arabic waqf: trust) for these madaris in order to ensure income generation, which in turn provided independence and autonomy to these institutions (Arshad 2005, 22–3). This tradition later became the standard practice and helped in spreading the network of madaris throughout the regions under Muslim rule. These madaris were typically patronized by the ruling elite. Apart from the pursuit of knowledge, the rapid rise in the number of madaris after the tenth century was also associated with at least three other factors: rivalry between Shias and Sunnis, contention between various Sunni schools of thought (madhabs), and philosophical debates between the rationalist Mutazilites and orthodox Asharites (Riaz 2008, 56).
As far as the Indian subcontinent is concerned, it is hard to find a discernible pattern among the Islamic educational institutions before the rise of Mughal Empire in the sixteenth century. After Muslims began to arrive in the region during the early eighth century, mosques and khanqahs (sufi hospices or monasteries) were initially used as the centres of informal religious education. The first formal madrassah was set up in 1191 in Ajmer by Muizzuddin Muhammad Ghauri (d. 1206), founder of Turkish rule in India (Khalid 2002, 93; Riaz 2008, 58). Saleem Ali (2009, 18) has pointed out that the first recorded madrassah in the subcontinent was the Madrassah Firozi in Multan established by Nasiruddin Qabacha. The earliest madaris in the subcontinent were reportedly established in the regions of Sindh and Multan (Arshad 2005, 24), when Arab scholars migrated there following Muhammad Bin Qasim's invasion of Sindh leading to the establishment of new cities like Mansura during the early eighth century.
In Delhi, Shams-ud-din Iltutmish (d. 1236) established the first madrassah, named Madrassah Muizziah in the memory of Sultan Ghauri (Arshad 2005, 24). Qutbuddin Aibak (d. 1210) of the Slave Dynasty and Muhammad bin Tughluq (d. 1351) and Feroze Shah (d. 1388) of the Tughluq Dynasty were the most enthusiastic founders of madaris in the subcontinent (Arshad 2005, 24; Khalid 2002, 93; Riaz 2008, 58). According to Miqrizi, during the reign of Muhammad bin Tughluq (1324–51) there were about one thousand madaris present in Delhi alone (Rizwi 2005, vol. 1, 72). However, that figure seems to be unrealistic given that even today, while the Muslim population of Delhi has increased enormously since the fourteenth century, there are still less than twelve hundred madaris there. Apparently, Miqrizi included in his calculation of madaris the maktabs attached to mosques, which provided basic Islamic education with a special focus on recitation of the Quran.
Most of the early madaris in the Indian subcontinent were established by the rulers of different dynasties and regional kingdoms that emerged in the wake of the Delhi Sultanate's weakening in the fifteenth century. Thus the curricula of these madaris varied to reflect the background of the scholars and saints who influenced a particular ruler. Despite having no single educational model, these early madaris had some common features: operational autonomy, freedom to choose syllabus, instruction of both revealed (manqulat) and rational (ma'qulat) sciences, and producing graduates who were to serve in the royal courts and state administration (Riaz 2008, 60–61).
After the establishment of the Mughal Empire, there was a marked increase in the number of madaris owing to the political stability and the royal policy to support education and learning. Muslim education during the Mughal period (1556–1858) can be divided into three categories; elementary, secondary and higher education. Elementary or primary education was provided at the maktab, which was almost invariably attached to a mosque. Occasionally, maktabs were based in private houses. Secondary education was imparted at khanqahs, dargahs (shrines) or sometimes at mosques. These institutions, which focused on mystical and theological ideas, acted as supplements and feeders to the madaris, which in turn imparted higher education. These madaris were present in important towns and cities and provided advanced studies in three types of sciences: illahi or divine sciences, consisting of theology and the means of acquiring the knowledge of God; riazi or mathematical sciences, which also included astronomy, music and mechanics; and tabi'i or physical sciences (Ojha 1975, 76–80).
The curriculum of madaris (i.e. higher education) during the first half of the Mughal era put great emphasis on the study of rational sciences (ma'qulat), which took on 'new importance' and made 'great strides towards popularity' during Emperor Akbar's reign (Ikram and Bilgrami quoted in Riaz 2008, 64). This emphasis on rationalist content continued under Emperor Jahangir despite efforts by some ulama like Shaikh Abdul Haqq Muhaddis Dehlwi, who tried to revive the manqulat (revealed) tradition. Later, Aurangzeb, who is considered the most orthodox Mughal ruler, patronized the Farangi Mahall madrassah in Lucknow as a major institution of learning.
The Farangi Mahall tradition also stressed ma'qulat more than manqulat. In fact, Mulla Nizamuddin Sihalvi (d. 1748) of this tradition expanded and compiled the curriculum of madaris by including a number of books on ma'qulat, while the Quran (two commentaries) and the Hadith (one abridgement) were given marginal focus (Metcalf 1982, 31). The Farangi Mahall syllabus, known as Dars-e-Nizami, has since dominated religious education in the subcontinent – of course, with some modifications. Nadwi (1970, 300) considered the modern Dars-e-Nizami to be an inferior form of the original syllabus, which focused more on the subjects than on books. However, Robinson (2001) has pointed out that Dars-e-Nizami was not a strict syllabus; rather it was more like a method of teaching whereby the teachers introduced books according to the ability of students rather than teaching them all the suggested books for a particular subject (Sanyal 2008, 25).
In a period marked by political instability, Farangi Mahall became one of the largest centres of learning by the early eighteenth century. While preparing qadhis (judges) and muftis (jurists) for the Muslim courts, this school also revived the tradition of combining scholarly and mystic learning (Metcalf 1982, 31–2), a tradition which had been eclipsed during the early period of Mughal rule that was marked by growing influence of the ulama vis-à-vis the sufis (Riaz 2008, 61). Another revival which occurred during the same period was related to the manqulat tradition, which was given more weightage in the curriculum of madaris. This revival was made possible by Shah Waliullah (1703–62), who not only emphasized the teaching of tafsir (exegesis) of the Quran but also included Sihah-e-Sittah (six authentic collections of Hadith) in the syllabus for his Madrassah Rahimia in Delhi. While urging the need and value of study of manqulat in bringing people closer to the teachings of Islam, Shah Waliullah, a contemporary of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab of Nejd, explicitly dismissed ma'qulat as mere intellectual exercises and a source of confusion (Metcalf 1982, 38).
Unlike Farangi Mahall, Waliullah's madrassah advocated a more independent and political role for ulama vis-à-vis the rulers. At a time marked by the decline of the Mughal Empire and the rise to power of the Marathas, Waliullah launched a movement from his madrassah to restore Muslim rule under a central authority. To achieve this, he developed a two-pronged strategy. First, he influenced the ruling elite through his teachings and wrote to Nizam ul-Mulk of Hyderabad, Najib ud-Daulah of Rohilkhand and even to Ahmad Shah Abdali of Afghanistan to take the initiative to revive stable Muslim rule (Metcalf 1982, 35). Second, Waliullah influenced the general Muslim population through a class of ulama which was prepared through the madaris set up in different parts of India (Sindhi 2008, 45–6). The first initiative of Waliullah proved to be short-lived and in vain. However, his intellectual work on religious thought succeeded in creating a class of ulama which was to play an important role in the future of Islamic education as well as Muslim politics in the subcontinent.
After Waliullah's death in 1762, the focus of his movement narrowed as his original ideas of tatbiq (intellectual synthesis), ijtihad (independent reasoning in matters relating to Islamic law) and religious harmony were ignored by his descendants. The movement gradually adopted taqlid (strict following) of the Hanafi madhab and contributed to disharmony among the Muslims through its criticism of Shias on the one hand and Sunni folk Islam on the other. For example, Waliullah in his book Izaltul Khifa had tried to address some misunderstandings between Shias and Sunnis, but his son Abdul Aziz in his book Tohfa-e-Athna Ashari aggressively dismissed Shia Islam. Similarly, in his will Waliullah had called on his heirs to forsake 'the customs of Arabs (pre-Islamic Arabia) and hunud (the Hindus)' (Ikram 2011, 572), but Abdul Aziz resolved to issue fatawa (plural of fatwa, a religious edict) concerning proper conduct on the tombs of saints.
Later on, condemnation of the popular customs of Indian Muslims became the major thrust of this movement, especially after Waliullah's grandson Muhammad Ismail wrote Taqwiatul Iman, a book inspired by Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab's Al-Tawhid, which advocated a very strict and puritan concept of monotheism (Sindhi 2008, 70). This book by Ismail created a storm of protest by mainstream ulama and is still considered a controversial book (Faruqi 1963, 18). While stating that God alone was entitled to worship and homage, Ismail denounced all practices and beliefs that seemed to compromise faith in tawhid (the transcendent unity of God). Three sources were identified as threats to tawhid: false sufism, Shia Islam and popular customs (Metcalf 1982, 56–7). By aggressively attacking these sources, the movement adopted a 'practical approach' that eclipsed the original intellectual approach of Shah Waliullah.
As shall be discussed in the next chapter, Waliullah's intellectual tradition finally came to an end when his great grandson Muhammad Ishaq left the family madrassah in Delhi and migrated to Makkah in 1842 (Sindhi 2008, 98), leaving behind a group of dedicated students who were supposed to keep the movement alive. This group included Abdul Ghani Dehlwi, Mamluk Ali and Syed Nazir Ahmed (Metcalf 1982, 71; Sindhi 2008, 98). The first two persons were to play a vital role in the genesis of the DMM, while the third was to establish a distinctive sect called Ahle Hadith – a group which is ghair muqallid (who do not observe taqlid or following of any of the four madhabs, i.e. Hanafi, Shafi'i, Maliki and Hanbli). Compared to the DMM, the Ahle Hadith school of thought is considered closer to the teachings of Muhammad bin Abdul Wahhab of Nejd.
1.2 A Brief History of the DMM
As the East India Company took control of the subcontinent after assuming power in Bengal in 1765, they initially kept the old education system intact. Madaris and maktabs continued to operate with state support. Persian remained the official language and for 'the first fifty years of the Company's rule, the Musalmans [sic] had the lion's share of state patronage' (Hunter 1871, 141). Even when the company established an educational institution for Muslims in Bengal in 1780, it was called Calcutta Aliya Madrassah and adopted the Dars-e-Nizami curriculum until changes were eventually introduced in 1791 (Riaz 2008, 68). The 1831 charter of the East India Company indicated for the first time that English was to be introduced to the Indian educational system alongside vernacular languages.
(Continues...)
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Table of Contents
Preface; Prologue; 1. Deoband Madrassah Movement: Research Context; 2. Origin of the DMM: Seeds of a Counterculture; 3. DMM in United India: Activist Countercultural Trends; 4. DMM in Pakistan: Countercultural Politics and Extremism; 5. Deobandi Islam: Countering the Folk Islam and Popular Custom; 6. DMM versus Mainstream Society: Viewpoint of Deobandi Journals and Students; Epilogue; Appendices; Glossary of Islamic Terms; References; IndexWhat People are Saying About This
‘This is an excellent study of how the Deoband madrassah movement has emerged as a countercultural movement in Pakistan. It addresses DMM’s evolution and opposition to the mainstream cultural, educational and political systems of the country. It is a must read.’ —Birol Yesilada, Portland State University
‘In this time of strained relations between Muslims and non-Muslims, as well as growing polarization among Muslims, reliable information on Islam and the Muslim world becomes of crucial importance. Mohammad Moj’s study of the Deobandis responds to this acute need. His concise but comprehensive book framing the Deobandi Madrassah network as an oppositional discourse and counterculture not only addresses the history and political significance of one of the most influential strands of modern Islamic thinking in South Asia, but also the impact of this movement on media and on the daily lives of Muslims.’—Carool Kersten, King’s College London